The Teaching Staff and Students of Chem 135 (Advanced Experimental Chemistry) warmly invite you to participate in our end-of-semester Poster Presentation on Tuesday, May 5 (10AM-noon, 1PM-3PM) in the Department Center. This semester many of Harvard's best undergraduate science students have completed projects that consist of multi-step organic syntheses and demonstrations of enantioselective reaction methodology. Please feel free to stop by the Department Center, have a look at the student posters, and ask them questions about their semester's work.

Congratulations to Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik, who has been named a recipient of the Camille Dreyfus Teacher-Scholar Award for 2009!

Senior chemistry concentrator and AB/AM candidate Allen Cheng has been named to the USA TODAY 2009 All-USA College Academic Team. Working under the direction of Professor Jon Clardy, Allen plans to enter Harvard's PhD/MD program following graduation. He has also served as a teaching fellow for Chem 27. USA TODAY honors 20 First Team members for outstanding intellectual achievement and leadership. Judges considered grades, leadership, activities, and, most importantly, how students extend their intellectual talents beyond the classroom. Congratulations, Allen!

Congratulations to Assistant Professor Adam Cohen, who has been named an award recipient of the U.S. Navy's 2009 Young Investigator Program of the Office of Naval Research! The grants provide support for three years; only 15 of the 193 applicants were selected.
"We serve our Fleet best by tapping the brightest young minds in science, technology, engineering and mathematics," says Chief of Naval Research RADM Nevin Carr Jr. "With investments in initiatives like the Young Investigator Program, ONR is encouraging the growth of tomorrow's world-class science and technology workforce."

Professor Matthew Shair has been named a recipient of the 2009 Raymond and Beverly Sackler Prize in the Physical Sciences - Chemistry, given by the University of Tel Aviv. He shares the prize, which this year is given in the area of Natural Product Total Synthesis, with two CCB alumni, Professor Phil Baran of Scripps and Professor Brian Stoltz of Caltech. All three will receive their prizes at Tel Aviv University in May. Professor Shair's citation reads as follows: "For his seminal contribution to the field of Natural Product Total Synthesis through the syntheses of complex natural products by the use of new cascade reactions to rapidly achieve molecular complexity."

Congratulations to Professor Charles M. Lieber, winner of the 2009 Inorganic Nanoscience Award from the ACS Division of Inorganic Chemistry! This is a new award, established by the Division in 2008, to honor excellent research in the area of inorganic nanoscience.

Congratulations to our newest fellowship winners: Amy Lee (Shair group) received a DOD fellowship, while Dahlia Goldfeld (Shakhnovich group), Graham Sazama (Betley group), and Brian Sparling (Shair group) have all received NSF fellowships!

Professor George Whitesides has been named recipient of the 2009 Benjamin Franklin Medal in Chemistry "for his pioneering chemical research in the field of molecular self-assembly and his invention of rapid, innovative techniques for the inexpensive fabrication of ultra-small devices for practical use." The Franklin Medal will be presented at a symposium entitled "Self-Assembly and Soft Lithography" on April 22nd at the University of Pennsylvania.

The Dudley Herschbach Teacher/Scientist Lecture series features Carl Wieman, Nobel Laureate in Physics from the University of British Columbia. Professor Wieman's talk is titled "Science Education in the 21st Century: Using the Methods of Science to Teach Science." The lecture will be held on Tuesday, April 14th, at 1 PM, in the Boylston Hall Auditorium.

The Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society presents its Gustavus J. Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest on April 16th to Professor Chad Mirkin of Northwestern University. The proceedings will take place in Pfizer Lecture Hall, where Professor Mirkin will receive the Esselen Award and present his lecture, "Nanostructures in Chemistry, Biology and Medicine: Realized Promise and Future Prospects."

The Materials Research Society has awarded Professor Joanna Aizenberg the Fred Kavli Distinguished Lectureship in Nanoscience. In addition to receiving a cash award from the Kavli Foundation, she will address the MRS spring meeting in San Francisco.

Congratulations to Professor Alán Aspuru-Guzik, who has been named a 2009 Sloan Research Fellow!

Please note that the Robert Burns Woodward memorial symposium originally scheduled for April 2009 has been postponed to 2010.

Congratulations to Darren Lipomi of the Whitesides group, who has been selected as a 2008-09 recipient of an ACS Division of Organic Chemistry Graduate Fellowship! He will attend the National Organic Symposium in June 2009.

The Aspuru-Guzik group announces the Clean Energy Project, whose mission is to find organic materials to create more efficient and lower cost solar cells. One of several projects launched on the World Community Grid and sponsored by IBM, the Clean Energy Project joins a research effort that already enlists the support of more than 400,000 computer users worldwide. To contribute to the project, Harvard users can download a screensaver through the Clean Energy Project site.

Congratulations to Professor Cynthia Friend, recipient of the ACS 2009 George A. Olah Award in Hydrocarbon or Petroleum Chemistry! She was honored at the annual ACS spring meeting in Salt Lake City.

Congratulations to Brian Timko and Bozhi Tian of the Lieber group for winning Gold and Silver Awards, respectively, at the fall meeting of the Materials Research Society! The awards recognize both academic achievement and excellence and promise in materials research.

Emeritus Professor and Nobel Laureate William Lipscomb was named recipient of the Prize Ettore Majorana -- Erice -- Science for Peace, given by the Ettore Majorana Foundation and Centre for Scientific Culture, Italy. The prize was presented in December at the Pontifical Academy of Sciences at the Vatican.

Emeritus Professor William von E. Doering was honored this summer at a meeting of the Chinese Chemical Society for his role in creating the China-U.S. Chemistry Graduate Program, which ran from 1982 to 1986 and brought a number of Chinese graduate students to CCB. A description of Prof. Doering's legacy appears in the October 27th issue of Chemical & Engineering News.

Congratulations to Professor Charles Lieber and Professor Hongkun Park, new NIH Director's Pioneer Award Recipients! Their proposed research is summarized at HarvardScience. Former CCB graduate students James Chen (Schreiber group) and Teri Odom (Lieber group, postdoc in the Whitesides group) are also NIH Pioneer Award winners, and Xiangfeng Duan (Lieber group) is an NIH New Innovator Award winner. All awards were announced on September 22nd at the NIH Director's Pioneer Award Symposium in Washington.

Professor Ted Betley is honored as a 2008 Young Innovator, and an Energy Winner, among the distinguished TR35 researchers whose work is profiled in the September/October issue of Technology Review.

Congratulations to Professor Sunney Xie, who has been awarded the Berthold Leibinger Research Prize for Laser Technology! This prize, awarded every two years by the German non-profit foundation Berthold Leibinger Stiftung, recognizes outstanding research milestones in applied laser technology. An international jury of laser experts, medical doctors and former business executives selected the prize winners. The prize was presented to Xie by jury member and physics Nobel Prize winner Professor Theodor Hänsch at an award ceremony in Ditzingen, Germany on September 15th.

The ACS Division of Organic Chemistry announces that Stephan Zuend of the Jacobsen lab has been awarded a graduate fellowship on the basis of research accomplishments and his essay entitled "Small-Molecule-Catalyzed Stereoselective Functionalization of Nearly Unbiased Substrates." He will present his research at the 2009 National Organic Symposium. Congratulations, Stephan!

Congratulations to senior Brandon Imber, who has received a Hoopes Prize for his thesis entitled "Rational Design, Chemical Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of a Small Molecule Library Targeting Histone Demthylases" under the direction of Professor Stuart Schreiber! Along with encouraging the academic exploits of students, the prize is intended to "promote excellence in the art of teaching," according to the Office of the Secretary of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences.

Congratulations to the following teaching fellows who have been awarded Certificates of Distinction for Excellence in Teaching for last spring's semester courses:

Timothy Cook, Chemistry 135
Naomi Rajapaksa, Chemistry 135

Thomas Kempa, Chemistry 158
Bozhi Tian, Chemistry 158

Ivan Kassal, Chemistry 243

Jason Beiger, Chemistry 20
Timothy Cook, Chemistry 20
Adam Kamlet, Chemistry 20
Brian Liau, Chemistry 20

Allen Cheng, Chemistry 27
Matthew Coughlin, Chemistry 27
Jason Hong, Chemistry 27
Yoonjin Lee, Chemistry 27
Sarah Mahlstedt, Chemistry 27
Linda Wang, Chemistry 27
Amy Wojciechowski, Chemistry 27
Peter Wright, Chemistry 27

Leslie Vogt, Chemistry 60

Billy Au, PS1
Andrew Howe, PS1
Edward Kim, PS1
Angela Koh, PS1
Mike McGaghie, PS1
Joshua Rosenbloom, PS1
Meghan Thurlow, PS1

Welcome New Staff
Susan Kinsella, Director's Office
Edna Liquidano, Grants Office

Staff Milestones

CCB would like to congratulate the following staff members for their years of service at Harvard. Thank you all for your service and dedication to the Department and to Harvard.

35 Years of Service

Marci Karplus, December 2007

20 Years of Service

Marcia Chapin, December 2007

5 Years of Service

Anna Shin, June 2008

Faculty Milestones

CCB would like to congratulate the following faculty members for their years of service at Harvard. Thank you all for your service and dedication to the Department and to Harvard.

25 Years of Service

Cynthia M. Friend

20 Years of Service

Gregory L. Verdine

Co–workers of George Whitesides have reason to be proud. They created the technology behind new non-profit company Diagnostics–For–All, which just took top prizes in both the MIT 100K and Harvard business plan contests. Not only is Diagnostics–For–All the first company ever to win both competitions, they are the first company based on Harvard innovation – from CCB –– to win the Social Enterprise contest at Harvard Business School. Based on a new generation of devices microfabricated and patterned in paper, DFA's technology is meant to enable tools for diagnosing ailments including liver, kidney, and metabolic diseases that are easy to use, cheap, portable, and disposable. The technology will benefit the developing world, and also the U.S. where there is a great need to find ways of reaching the poor and underserved, explains T.J. Martin, lab administrator of the Whitesides group.

Congratulations to CCB graduate students Mark Chen, Meredeth McGowan, and Landy Blasdel, who have been selected as recipients of the 2008 Roche Excellence in Chemistry Award!

Shuyu Wang, a graduating senior in the Verdine Group, was one of ten students, and the only American, honored for excellent poster presentations at the German Chemical Society-sponsored 10th Young Scientists Conference on Chemistry, held in March at the University of Rostock.

Ray Moellering of the Verdine group won the Vertex Excellent Graduate Student Research Award, presented by the ACS Northeast Section's Younger Chemists Committee at its 10th Annual Student Chemistry Research Conference at Tufts University in April.

The following graduate students were honored in June as recipients of the Dudley R. Herschbach Teaching Award. This award "recognizes excellence in teaching and dedication to departmental service."

Mathieu Lalonde
Karen O'Brien
Hong Geun Lee
Yimon Aye
Leslie Vogt




Two preceptors were honored with the CCB Research Mentoring Award, also presented by Dudley Herschbach. The Mentoring Award is given in recognition of "exemplary service in the area of research training, advising, and mentoring of undergraduate students." Timothy Cook, pictured above with Prof. Herschbach and Leslie Vogt, and Israel Meir received the Mentoring Award.

Jeremy R. Knowles, 1935-2008, in memoriam

It is with great regret that we note the passing of our friend and colleague, Professor Jeremy Knowles, on April 3, 2008. His Memorial Service was held on Friday, May 30th at 11 am in Memorial Church, Harvard Yard. In lieu of flowers, please consider making a contribution to the charity of your choice. For additional information, please visit http://www.news.harvard.edu/gazette/2008/04.03/99-knowles.html

Congratulations to Professor Alan Saghatelian, who has been named one of 15 Searle Scholars for 2008!

In memoriam Ahamindra Jain, 1963-2008:

Alumnus, teacher and friend, Ahamindra served CCB as inspirational mentor to undergraduate students while he was a graduate student in our department, and more recently as Director of Undergraduate Laboratories and Lecturer. A book remembering Ahamindra and his contributions to our community is available both online and in the CCB Director's Office. He is survived by his wife Richa and their two children Divya and Amartya.

Congratulations to Professor Eric Jacobsen, elected on April 29th to the National Academy of Sciences, in recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research. The Academy was established in 1863 by a congressional act of incorporation signed by Abraham Lincoln that calls on it to act as an official adviser to the federal government, upon request, in any matter of science or technology.

Professor Sunney Xie was elected on April 28th to the American Academy of Arts and Sciences, one of the nation's oldest honorary societies and independent policy research centers, founded in 1780. "The academy honors excellence by electing to membership remarkable men and women who have made preeminent contributions to their fields, and to the world," said AAAS President Emilio Bizzi.

Lydia Carmosino, Lab Manager of the Verdine group, was awarded the Warren R. Stockwood Prize in a departmental lunch in June. The Stockwood Prize is intended to recognize the "exceptional and sustained contributions" of CCB's nonacademic employees, and is awarded on a non-regular basis to individuals selected by the Faculty. Previous award recipients, pictured with Lydia below, are Jerome Connors (October, 1998), Robert Hoijer (June, 2000), Carol Gonzaga (August, 2002), and Gregory Tucci (May, 2006).

CCB is happy to recognize Matt McDonald as a recipient of the CCB Staff Administrator Award, given for exceptional and continuing performance in the service of the Chemistry & Chemical Biology Department.

We are delighted to announce the participants in CCB’s Summer Minority and Female Undergraduate Fellows Program:

Isha Agarwal, working with Professor David Liu
Blair Greenwald and Hai Xi Li, working with Professor Gregory Verdine
Megan Blewitt, working with Professor E. J. Corey, also named the Novartis Summer Fellow
Tamara Halkina, working with Professor David Evans, also named the Wayland E. Noland Summer Fellow

Congratulations to the following teaching fellows who have been awarded Certificates of Distinction for Excellence in Teaching for fall semester courses:

Isha Agarwal, Chemistry 17
Timothy Cook, Chemistry 17
Charles Goodhue, Chemistry 17

Takeru Furuya, Chemistry 30
Israel Meir, Chemistry 30
Benjamin Stanzl, Chemistry 30
Yikai Wang, Chemistry 30

Andrea Jonas, Chemistry 105

Alejandro Perdomo, Chemistry 160

Yimon Aye, Chemistry 206

CCB is pleased to announce that Xiaoying Liu of the Friend group has been named winner of the Student Award of the ACS Division of Petroleum Chemistry! The award recognizes her outstanding presentation at the 2007 Fall ACS meeting.

On Thursday, April 17th at 8 pm in Pfizer Lecture Hall, the 22nd Gustavus John Esselen Award for Chemistry in the Public Interest was presented to Corey group alumnus Dr. John Katzenellenbogen of the University of Illinois, for his research on estrogen receptors. The Esselen Awards are given by the Northeastern Section of the American Chemical Society. Dr. Katzenellenbogen's award lecture, following the presentation, was entitled "Estrogens and Estrogen Receptors as a Nexus of Chemistry and Biology in Health and Disease."

Congratulations to Brian Liau of the Shair Group, John Sadowski of the Liu Group, and Leslie Vogt of the Aspuru-Guzik Group, our newest NSF graduate fellows!

Congratulations to Helen Corriero and Purvang Patel, first recipients of the CCB Laboratory Administrator Award! This award is being given to Helen, of the Kahne and Walker Groups, and Purvang, of the Lieber Group, "for exceptional and continuing performance in the service of the Chemistry & Chemical Biology Department."

The ACS has awarded Prof. Eric Jacobsen its Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods and Prof. Joanna Aizenberg the Ronald Breslow Award for Achievement in Biomimetic Chemistry! Both award addresses took place at the April ACS meeting in New Orleans.

In memoriam Warren R. Stockwood, 1921-2008:

Associate Director of the Department of Chemistry for many years, Warren supervised purchasing and personnel with his staff in the entryway to Mallinckrodt and was held in high esteem by faculty, staff and generations of graduate students. Warren worked at Harvard for 48 years, almost all of it in our department. He then served as president of the Harvard University Retirees Association, came regularly to speak at CCB holiday functions, and was honored in 1998 by the establishment of the Warren R. Stockwood Prize to recognize the exceptional and sustained contributions of nonacademic CCB employees.

The development of soft lithography in the laboratory of Professor George Whitesides is cited as one of the top ten advances in materials science over the past 50 years in the Jan/Feb 2008 issue of Materials Today.

A festive book-signing event took place in the CCB library on November 14th for "Molecules and Medicine" by Professor E. J. Corey, Barbara Czakó, and László Kürti.The book has been favorably reviewed by the Crimson and C&E. In February 2008, "Molecules and Medicine" received the Association of American Publishers' 2007 Professional and Scholarly Publishing Division Award for Excellence, in the Physical Sciences and Mathematics category.

Assistant Professor Ted Betley's research effort is one of eight nationwide just selected for funding by The Camille and Henry Dreyfus Foundation under its Postdoctoral Program in Environmental Chemistry.

Congratulations to Paul Ahern and Shaw Huang for 25 years of service to CCB!

Welcome New Staff
Barbara Anderson, Director's Office
Cynthia Hegh, Director's Office
Teri Howard, Faculty Assistant to Prof. Xie
Aleks Markovic, Financial Office
Thomas J. Martin, Lab Administrator to Prof. Whitesides
Martin Near, Lab Administrator to Prof. Evans
Katie O'Brien, Administrator to Profs. Cohen and Saghatelian
Orpha Rivera, Administrator to Prof. Aspuru-Guzik

Congratulations to Patti Gorman, who retired in August after 21 years of service in CCB!

Staff Milestones

CCB would like to congratulate the following staff members for their years of service at Harvard. Thank you all for your service and dedication to the Department and to Harvard.

25 Years of Service

Paul Ahern, November 2007
Shaw Huang, November 2007

20 Years of Service

Marie Purcell, December 2007

15 Years of Service

Gerald Lotto, May 2007

10 Years of Service

Joseph Lavin, March 2007

5 Years of Service

Elke Blackstone, June 2007
Matthew Kilroy, February 2007
Michael Paterno, April 2007

Our heartiest congratulations are extended to Dr. Gregory C. Tucci, our Co-Director of Undergraduate Studies, who has been named a Senior Lecturer by the Faculty of Arts and Sciences!

Congratulations to Logan McCarty, currently co-teaching Physical Sciences 2 and associated for many years with CCB as student, teaching fellow, preceptor and advisor to undergraduates, who has been named Assistant Dean in Academic Programs effective October 15th.

The first recipient of the CCB Staff Administrator Award is Rick Barry, Maintenance Technician in Operations! Congratulations to Rick, honored "for exceptional and continuing performance in the service of the Chemistry & Chemical Biology Department."

Congratulations to Professor Alan Saghatelian, one of the first recipients of the NIH Director's New Innovator Award!

Congratulations to Professor Adam Cohen, a Camille and Henry Dreyfus New Faculty Awardee! Adam has also been named to the Technology Review TR35 list of Young Innovators Under 35.

Congratulations to the following teaching fellows who have been awarded Certificates of Distinction for Excellence in Teaching for spring semester courses:

Justin McCarty, Physical Sciences 1
Stephen Weinman, Physical Sciences 1
Angela Koh, Physical Sciences 1
Israel Meir, Physical Sciences 1
Michael McGaghie, Physical Sciences 1
Julie Schlenker, Physical Sciences 1

Yimon Aye, Chemistry 20

Takeru Furuya, Chemistry 27
Shota Kikuchi, Chemistry 27
Xiaonan Lin, Chemistry 27
Amy Wojciechowski, Chemistry 27

Joseph Wzorek, Chemistry 40

Daniel Rosenberg, Chemistry 165

Shu Sin Chng, Chemistry 270
Sun Hyung Chung, Chemistry 270

The ACS Biochemical Technology Division (BIOT) presented Brian Timko of the Lieber Group its 2006 W. H. Peterson Award for his paper, "Designing and Implementing an Electronic Interface between Nanowires and Neurons." The award, presented at the ACS national meeting in Boston, is given annually to student members who present outstanding research in sessions sponsored by BIOT.

The inaugural Dudley R. Herschbach Award for excellence in the field of chemical reaction dynamics was presented in July to Richard Zare of Stanford and William Miller of Berkeley at the 21st Dynamics of Molecular Collisions meeting in Santa Fe. The award honors Prof. Herschbach for his many years of work in chemical dynamics.

CCB is proud to congratulate Gregg Tucci and Logan McCarty, recipients of the Petra T. Shattuck Excellence in Teaching Award at Commencement! Established by the Harvard Extension School in memory of Petra T. Shattuck, a distinguished and dedicated teacher in the program, who died of a cerebral hemorrhage in the spring of 1988, these prizes are awarded annually to honor outstanding teaching in the Extension program.

To acknowledge his support of the mission of the Harvard Foundation and his contributions to its programs, Jeremy R. Knowles, the Amory Houghton Professor of Chemistry and Biochemistry and interim dean of the Faculty of Arts and Sciences, has been named the recipient of the Foundation's 2007 Distinguished Faculty award.

Congratulations to Prof. David Evans, who received the Phi Beta Kappa award for teaching excellence on Tuesday, June 5th! Nominations for this award come entirely from undergraduate members of the Alpha-Iota of Massachusetts Phi Beta Kappa chapter, the oldest continuously existing chapter of the honor society.

Congratulations to Professor David Liu who has been honored with a Harvard College Professorship, given for recognition of undergraduate teaching, and with the Levenson Memorial Teaching Prize awarded by the Undergraduate Council!

In Memoriam Frank H. Westheimer, 1912-2007
At the age of 95, Prof. Westheimer remained actively involved in the intellectual life of CCB. In his honor, the department created the Westheimer Medal in 2002.

Jonathan Lawrence of the Evans group and Yi Zhang of the Kahne group are winners of the Hoffmann-La Roche Excellence in Chemistry Award, for research accomplishments in the field of organic chemistry. Lawrence and Zhang presented their research at Roche's annual Excellence in Chemistry Symposium on June 4th and 5th in Nutley, New Jersey.

Professor William A. Klemperer 80th!

On Saturday, October 6, 2007, friends and colleagues will gather to celebrate Professor Klemperer's birthday. For complete schedule of events, please see the linked agenda.

More info

NEW FACULTY

Welcome to Professors Joanna Aizenberg, Gordon McKay Professor of Materials Science and Susan S. and Kenneth L. Wallach Professor at the Radcliffe Institute for Advanced Study, and Erin O'Shea, Professor of Molecular and Cellular Biology and Director of the FAS Center for Systems Biology, new joint members of CCB!

We are pleased to welcome Dr. Theodore Betley as Assistant Professor of inorganic chemistry, beginning July 1st, 2007. Dr. Betley comes to us from MIT, where he has been a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor Daniel Nocera.

We are also very pleased to welcome Dr. Adam Cohen as Assistant Professor of physical chemistry beginning in August. An alumnus of Harvard, Dr. Cohen received graduate degrees from the University of Cambridge and Stanford, where he was also a postdoctoral fellow in the laboratory of Professor W. E. Moerner.

Graduate student Thomas Snyder of the Liu Group is the World Sudoku Champion as of March 31, 2007, beating a group of 140 players from 32 countries in a 3-day contest held in Prague.

CCB Professor George M. Whitesides received the American Chemical Society's 2007 Priestley Medal in March. The annual award, which is the highest honor bestowed by the ACS, recognizes distinguished service to the field of chemistry. Both a profile of Professor Whitesides and his acceptance speech can be viewed at http://pubs.acs.org/cen/coverstory/85/8513cover.html.

Congratulations to our 2007 ACS National Award winners:

• Prof. Xiaowei Zhuang, ACS Award in Pure Chemistry
• Prof. David Evans, Herbert C. Brown Award for Creative Research in Synthetic Methods
• Prof. Gregory Verdine and Anirban Banerjee, Nobel Laureate Signature Award for Graduate Education in Chemistry

Congratulations to Associate Director Jerry Connors for 40 years of service to CCB!

Congratulations to the following for receiving Certificates of Distinction for Excellence in Teaching from the Bok Center for the fall semester:

Karen O'Brien, Chem 17
Sarah Reisman, Chem 17
Christopher Uyeda, Chem 17

Shota Kikuchi, Chem 30
Tania Lupoli, Chem 30
Israel Meir, Chem 30

Mathieu Lalonde, Chem 206
Hyun-Ji Song, Chem 206

Landy Blasdell, Chem 215
David Kummer, Chem 215

Walter Kowtoniuk, Chem 280

Meghan Thurlow, SCI A-50

Shu Sin Chng, LS 1a
Kevin Esvelt, LS 1a

The April 23rd edition of C&E reports the following presentation of Prof. George Whitesides as recipient of the ACS Priestley Medal, by President Catherine Hunt: “It isn’t often that one has the opportunity to introduce a legend. But tonight, I have the distinct honor of introducing a legend in chemistry. In all fairness, I should say a legend in physical and organic chemistry, materials science, biophysics, bioorganic chemistry, biotechnology, surface science, self-assembly, nanotechnology, microfluidics … Well, anyway, you get the idea. George’s contributions are encyclopedic. He has more than 900 published articles to his credit. And his name and papers are always at or near the top of the list for citation counts and Impact Factor. In fact, George is ranked first on the list of “The Most Cited Researchers in Chemistry” compiled by “in cites” — a Web component of Thomson Scientific’s “Essential Science Indicators.” George has mentored more than 300 graduate students, postdocs, and visiting scholars. George Whitesides takes an active role in the public policy arena for science and technology. In fact, he serves as chair of the National Academy’s Committee on Science, Engineering, and Public Policy.” Congratulations, George!

Welcome New Staff Members

Minoo Ardeshiri, Administrator for Prof. Aspuru-Guzik

Jeff Creson, Laboratory Administrator for Prof. Park

Emanuelle Hestermann, Executive Assistant for Prof. Friend

Norman Lee, Research Assistant in Mass Spectrometry

Prof. David Evans has been named the recipient of two awards: the Ryoji Noyori Prize administered by The Society of Synthetic Organic Chemistry, Japan, "to recognize and encourage outstanding contributions to research in asymmetric synthetic chemistry defined in its broadest sense," and the Glenn T. Seaborg Medal from UCLA's Department of Chemistry and Biochemistry, honoring individuals for their significant contributions to chemistry and biochemistry.

The Royal Society of Chemistry has named Professor George M. Whitesides an Honorary Fellow. The award is bestowed upon those who have made outstanding contributions to chemical sciences, resulting in significant impacts and benefits to the chemical community.

Welcome New Staff Members

Michele Brown, Accounting Assistant in the Finance Office
Kathy Weldon, Graduate Program Administrator
Allen Aloise, Science Safety Officer
Meg Flynn, Executive Assistant
Jahan Habib, Laboratory Administrator for Professor Xie
Jeff Fosdick, Administrator for Professors MacBeath and Holm
Ahamindra Jain, Director of Undergraduate Labs
Ali Munawar, Research Assistant in the Saghatelian Group
Jonathan Berk, Faculty Assistant to Professor Xie
Purvang Patel, Laboratory Administrator for Professor Lieber
Kathleen Ledyard, Staff Assistant to Professor Lieber

Staff Transitions

Sandy Rosen retired on August 31st after 20 years of Harvard service.
Four staff members have received promotions:
Elisa Lenssen, Secretary to Professor Whitesides
Linda Ross, Manager of Research Administration
Steve Soph, Executive Assistant to Professor Friend
Gregg Tucci, Co-Director of Graduate Studies

World Scientific Publishing has produced a book by CCB staff member William J Croft, titled "Under the Microscope: A Brief History of Microscopy." The book outlines the history of the development of microscopy, from the use of beads and water droplets in ancient Greece, through the simple magnifying glass, to the modern compound microscope. The technology and optical theory are developed in a straightforward manner, and this leads to a description and explanation of the most modern technologies in electron microscopy, and scanning electron microscopy as well as the new scanning probe microscopies. A series of very interesting applications of the various microscopic techniques are described. The most recent pioneering techniques in near field and confocal optical microscope technologies are described and evaluated for their future importance.

Eric Heller elected to the National Academy of Sciences
In recognition of his distinguished and continuing achievements in original research, Professor Eric Heller has been elected to the National Academy of Sciences, April 2006.
For more information on Professor Heller's work, please visit http://monsoon.harvard.edu
For more information on the National Academy of Sciences, please visit nationalacademies.org

Gregory C. Tucci, Ph.D. CCB's Assistant Director of Undergraduate Studies has been named as a recipient of the Warren R. Stockwood Prize. This honor, named for Warren Stockwood, former Associate Director in CCB, is awarded on a non-regular basis to individuals selected by the departmental Faculty. The prize includes both a stipend and a dinner, and is intended to recognize "exceptional and sustained contributions" of the department's nonacademic employees.

Staff Milestones

CCB would like to congratulate the following CCB staff members for their years of service at Harvard. Thank you all for your service and dedication to the Department and to Harvard.

40 Years of Service to Harvard University
Jerry Connors
June 1, 2006

30 Years of Service to Harvard University
Cheryl Ryder
March 1, 2006

20 Years of Service to Harvard University
Patti Gorman
June 1, 2006

15 Years of Service to Harvard University
William Collins
February 1, 2006

Jinlin Huang
July 1, 2006

10 Years of Service to Harvard University
Anita Pearson
March 1, 2006

Richard Ragin
October 1, 2006

Richard Staples
July 1, 2006

5 Years of Service to Harvard University
Qing Liao
March 1, 2006

Melissa LeGrand
March 1, 2006

Karen Rizman
September 1, 2006

CCB is honored to announce the David A. Evans Chemistry Fellowship Fund endowed by Novartis, for the Professor's "numerous contributions towards Organic Synthesis."

Congratulations to Gregg Tucci, PhD -- as the new Co-director of Undergraduate Studies.

Congratulations to Izzat Raheem, of Professor Eric Jacobsen's Laboratory, and Thomas Snyder, of Professor David Liu's Laboratory -- two of the American Chemical Society's Organic Division Fellowship Awardees. A link to their respective essays can be accessed at the following: ACS - Organic Division Fellowship Awardees.

Congratulations to Parvinder Singh Thiara!

A senior, currently studying with Professor Eric Jacobsen, and majoring in Chemistry, was named a Rhodes Scholar for 2007.

Congratulations to the recipients (listed below) of the Dudley R. Herschbach Teaching Awards for those recognized for "excellence in teaching and dedication to departmental service."

(L to R) Professor Dudley R. Herschbach, Alex Shalek (Fall, 2005-06), Izzat Raheem (Spring, 2005-06), Kevin Fortner (Spring, 2004-05), Paul Bracher and William J. Chain (Fall, 2004-05).